Happy Holidays, Nico!
by appositive
Summary: Follow Nico through a whole year of holidays, embarrassment, and revenge. Will he get even with the guy who killed- no, wait, that's a spoiler. Most importantly, will he get the girl?
1. Thanks a Lot! Not!

**A/N**: Sorry if I made Paul Blofis out of character… And Juniper… And maybe Tyson… And everyone else…

**Warning**: Nico's my favorite character and everything, but this story tortures him for entertainment purposes. If reading Nico torture makes you cry, stop reading this right now. Also, there are spoilers for all five books. If not in this chapter, then in one of the next ones.

**Disclaimer**: I am not awesome enough to have written Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All characters belong to Rick Riordan.

* * *

Another Thanksgiving with nowhere to go, no family with which to spend this day of grace. Nico supposed he could take a trip to the Underworld, but he didn't think he could stomach a meal composed entirely of wheat, as Demeter would undoubtedly prepare. Not to mention Persephone's constant whining, which was even worse than her mother's food choice.

The miserable boy groaned and pulled the covers over his head, trying to go back to sleep and avoid facing the world.

Meanwhile, Percy Jackson walked toward Camp Half-Blood's wooded area, passing through the circle of cabins on the way. When he was halfway to the forest, he yelled, "Grover! Juniper! My mom's here!"

A moaning sound came somewhere from Percy's left. He froze, listening closer.

"Shuuuuuuuut uuuuuuuuuup…"

The invincible demigod creeped slowly up to Hades cabin. In one swift motion, he flung the ebony door wide open.

"Sunlight…it burns…" Nico groaned, retreating farther under his Darth Vader blankets.

"Nico! For Poseidon's sake, it's Thanksgiving!" Percy scolded.

"Yeah, I noticed," was the muffled reply.

Percy sighed, exasperated. "Well, go out and spend time with your family!"

"They're all dead."

"Why don't you come to my house?"

Nico made no effort to repress his laughter. "Ha ha ha! That's a good one, Percy, but torture-Nico-until-he-craves-death day isn't until February!"

Percy was just about to strangle the uncooperative twelve-year-old, when two figures appeared in the doorway. "Percy!" Grover bleated, "We're ready!"

"Great!" the irritated boy replied, trying to sound happy, "But, wait. I thought Juniper couldn't go very far from her tree."

"You see, Percy, now that I'm Lord of the Wild…"

While her boyfriend was explaining the complicated situation, Juniper stepped into the cabin. "Hi, Nico."

Nico's throat was suddenly dry. He tried to come up with something witty to say, but all that came out was, "Uhhhhh…hi."

Juniper laid her head on the satyr's shoulder and watched him speak, but Nico couldn't hear a word Grover said. He was too busy staring at the beautiful dryad. His eyes soaked in the exact shade of green of her silky skin, and his mind replayed the sound of her beautiful voice uttering his name.

By the time Grover's lengthy monologue came to a close, Nico was drooling. However, the sudden silence snapped the boy out of it, and he quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, face slightly reddened.

Percy sighed in defeat as he stepped out the door. "Bye, Nico."

"No! Wait! I'm coming! Just let me get dressed!"

Percy was puzzled. What could have made the stubborn kid change his mind so quickly? He shrugged, not about to complain.

Ten minutes later, they were piling into Sally Jackson's van. Sally and Paul Blofis sat in the front, with Percy's mom driving. Tyson claimed the middle, right next to his beloved half-brother. That left Grover, Juniper, and Nico for the three backseats. The two nonhuman lovebirds sat next to each other, but Juniper was squished in the middle. The tight fit made it inevitable that Nico and Juniper's knees touched. So, naturally, Nico was hyperventilating the whole ride to Manhattan.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Paul teased his stepson.

"She's spending time with her father in California," Percy replied glumly.

"Great for her! I'm glad she's forging a better relationship with her father. You should be happy for her." Sally gave her son a meaningful look in the rearview mirror.

"I know. I'm happy for her and all, but why couldn't her father and stepfamily come up here for Thanksgiving? I'm going to miss Annabeth…"

"Don't be sad, brother. Tyson's here." He looked at the demigod with his one calf-like eye.

"Awww, thanks, big guy."

"So," Paul eagerly changed the subject from all this mushy stuff, "I hear that Nico is in the backseat?"

"Yeah, I'm right here." It came out as a squeak, since the car swerved just as he was answering, pressing Juniper's body against his for a moment.

Percy turned around and shot him a funny look. Something was awfully suspicious about Nico today…

"Remember that awesome battle last summer? And you were sword fighting! And you had a cool sword! And you were so good at it! And we made an awesome sword fighting team! And-"

Sally cut her husband off with a laugh, "Calm down, Paul."

"Yeah, I remember that." Nico tried to sound cool and nonchalant in front of Juniper, "We must have killed what, fifty monsters? Sixty?"

"Too bad I couldn't see what I was doing!" The man laughed, then looked down at his lap, disappointed. "I wanted to see the monsters…"

"Ha! I remember that!" Percy smiled, "Nico, you had so much monster dust in your hair! You looked worse than when you were living in the streets!"

Much to Percy's puzzlement, Nico shot him the special Nico-brand Glare of Death. Percy squirmed uncomfortably. What had he done wrong?

"You lived on the streets?" Juniper was shocked.

Nico blushed and concentrated his glare full-force on the back of Percy's seat. "No. I lived on the outskirts of the Underworld. And then in the Labyrinth."

"Oh, my! That's even worse! You poor, poor child!" Nico was just feeling put off by Juniper's referring to him as a "child" (after all, he was twelve, almost a teenager), when Juniper enveloped him in a hug. Although it only lasted a matter of seconds, it was enough to make Nico's head spin, and his cheeks redden.

"Nico, are you okay?" Grover asked, "You look kind of…overheated."

"It's all the black he wears," Percy commented. Under his breath, he added, "E-mo."

By this point, Nico had to repress the urge to strangle the older boy.

When the car finally, finally, _finally_ pulled in Percy's apartment's parking lot, Nico undid his seatbelt before the car even came to a full stop.

"Nico," Sally warned, "Wait for the car to stop moving."

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Nico mumbled. Apparently, he didn't need Percy's help making himself look like a fool.

The seven companions made their way in a single file procession up the staircase. Paul, at the front, inserted the key into the doorknob and turned.

Inside, the house smelled of homemade food. "I just have to finish cooking the turkey," Sally informed the group.

"Mom! You left the oven on while you were out of the house?" Percy was shocked, his face pale as a ghost.

"Can't I go on dangerous adventures, too?" she teased, "Besides, if you weren't away at that silly camp of yours all the time, you could have stayed home and watched the oven."

"That's right," Paul agreed, "I was playing the important role of radio control-person, so your mom could drive with both hands on the wheel. That would be your job, if you weren't always away from home."

Much to the amusement of the others, Percy looked down and mumbled, "I'll stay home if you really need me, mom."

Sally smiled, touched. "Awww, Percy, but what about your training?"

"I think you're more important, mom."

Sally laughed. "Good to know, but I was kidding."

"No, I mean it," Percy insisted, "I should stay home with you. I've already had enough training!"

The on-looking crowd raised their eyebrows, waiting intently to see what would come next.

"Absolutely not!" Sally shouted, startling everyone. "You need to prepare; you're a hero; they need you to defend the camp and teach new campers! Besides, you smell too strongly. All you'd end up doing is putting us both in danger!"

Percy looked down, ashamed. In the awkward silence that followed, Sally left to check on the turkey. The rest looked at the floor, afraid to speak.

Finally, Nico broke the quiet atmosphere. "So…since Percy and I are in the same room, and we're both children of the Big Three, does that mean we're all gonna die?"

Paul laughed. "Gotta love this kid," he thought with a smile.

And just like that the awkward silence dissipated. Paul started to question Percy and Nico on life as a demigod, and Grover and Juniper retreated to a corner, where they had a giggle-filled conversation in hushed tones. The younger boy said little, keeping his eyes glued to the dryad in the corner. He strained his ears to hear her melodious laugh.

After a while, the conversation shifted, with Paul drilling Percy about his plans for the future, especially where education was concerned. (Percy was taking the year off from school to help out at Camp Half-Blood, what with the large quantities of new demigods arriving.) Nico seized the opportunity and edged over to where Grover and Juniper were sitting, stopping about a yard away.

"Hi, Nico!" Juniper greeted. Nico's heart skipped a beat. "Is Paul creeping you out? I think he stalks you. What do you think, Grover? Is he a stalker?"

"Um…I don't know. He seems nice."

"Yeah, but you can't really tell with these things. You're nice and you're a stalker."

"Am not!" Grover's cheeks turned crimson and Juniper giggled.

Nico stood there awkwardly. He could tell that he didn't belong, and started to back away.

"Come sit down, Nico," Juniper invited. Nico obediently sat on the couch, disappointed that Juniper had claimed the end seat, making it impossible for him to sit next to her.

"Sooo…" Grover started awkwardly.

"Hey, Nico, do you have a girlfriend?" Juniper asked sweetly.

"N-no…" he sputtered weakly. Oh, no. He was _not_ going to cry. Just because he wanted Juniper _so badly_ didn't mean that he was going to let it get to him.

"Juniper!" Grover scolded, "That's not something you ask someone! Look how uncomfortable you've made him. And of course he doesn't have a girlfriend! He's only twelve!"

"Twelve?" Juniper looked taken aback. "I thought you were older. Are you really tall or something?"

Nico nodded, annoyed. He had been counting on the fact that he looked older than he was. Now that Juniper knew the truth, she probably wouldn't even consider going out with him. Assuming she ever broke up with Grover…

Suddenly, Sally called, "Dinner's ready!" and they all piled into the apartment's small kitchen.

Gathered around the small kitchen table, the group was overwhelmed by the delicious smells of Sally's cooking. The woman tapped on her glass to get everyone's attention.

"I think it would be nice," she started, "If we went around the table and all named one thing that we're thankful for. I'll start." She closed her eyes. "I'm thankful for my wonderful son, Percy, and my amazing husband, Paul." Under her breath and out of hearing range, she added, "Sorry, Poseidon. I love you, too."

Next, it was Percy's turn. "I'm thankful for…um…my mom. She's the best." The green-eyed boy proceeded to blush, resulting in a slightly Christmassy effect. "And I'm glad that Nico's not dead. Or a hobo."

Nico rolled his eyes. "First he's a momma's boy, then he thinks he's my momma," he muttered, causing Juniper to giggle.

"Percy! And peanut butter! And Annabeth! And my bad guy hitting stick! And Rainbow! And peanut butter!" Tyson smiled, proud of his highly eloquent speech.

Grover was sitting next to the relatively small Cyclops. "Uh…I'm thankful for my friends and my girlfriend." His blush was not quite as deep as Percy's.

Nico frowned. It didn't sound like Grover and Juniper were breaking up any time soon.

"Oh," said Juniper, realizing that it was her turn, "I guess I'm thankful for my lovely, caring, kind, supportive-"

"We get the idea, Juniper," Grover mumbled, embarrassed.

The dryad ignored him. "Good-looking, smart, attractive, handsome boyfriend." She smiled deviously.

Nico had to fight back the bile that was rising in his throat, making it hard to articulate. But that was okay, as Nico didn't have much to say, anyway. In a barely audible voice, he confessed, "I'm glad my dad stopped hating me…"

A look of concern appeared on Percy's face. "Aww, Nico…"

"Shut up, Percy!" Nico countered. Immediately, he regretted his outburst, and glanced over at Juniper to see her response. She was smiling at the boy, barely suppressing her laughter.

Another thing Nico was thankful for.

The last person to give thanks was the man seated on Sally's right. Paul cleared his throat. "I'm thankful for my wonderful new family, Sally and Percy. Also, for my home, my safety, and my job. Lastly, I am thankful for," he paused for dramatic effect, "knowing about the awesome Greek gods! They're real! They're really reeeeeeal! And they're SO awesome!"

Sally smiled. "That was really nice. Thank you all. I appreciate it." She nodded at Paul.

In his most dramatic voice, Paul added, "Now, without further ado, let us eat!"

* * *

Hours later, Nico was sitting on the couch next to Percy, chatting happily. At least, Nico was chatting happily. Percy was a bit…exasperated.

"Nico, for Poseidon's sake, do you live at camp or not?"

"…Maybe."

"Because you only sleep there like, four days a week. Where do you go? And why do you disappear in the morning and barely show up for any meals?"

"I do things."

"Where?"

"Places."

"Which places?"

"…Wouldn't you like to know." Gods, this was better than the time ghost-Bianca had forced him to go to therapy!

Nico was in the middle of savoring Percy's expression, when Sally called, "Come on guys; let's go!" She walked up to Nico. "Nico, dear, can you go get Grover and Juniper? I think they're in Percy's room."

The black-clad boy ambled down the hallway, smiling to himself. Maybe he'd make Juniper laugh on the car ride home. He certainly hoped so. And it wasn't impossible, seeing as he'd done it twice during dinner alone!

He reached what he remembered to be Percy's door and turned the knob, feeling good about himself. However, the feeling soon flew right out the window.

Grover and Juniper were sitting on Percy's bed, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, _making out_.

Nico quickly slammed the door shut, leaning against it. And in that second, he regretted not spending the day shoving wholegrain food products down his throat. Anything but this.

"Why can't I have a good day, not even once?" the boy thought miserably. And he determinedly resolved that somehow, someway, Grover Underwood was going down.

* * *

**A/N**: I was not expecting it to be this long. I make no promises, but the next chapter will probably be a lot shorter. But it's up to you: **Should I write the next chapter by Christmas/Winter Solstice, or have it done much sooner and be slightly out of season?** Please tell me your opinion in the reviews! :)


	2. Best Solstice Ever

**A/N**: So, I've decided not to wait for the actual holidays to release the chapters. I'm too impatient to spend a whole year on this story, and I'm sure you don't want to have to wait that long. Now, without further ado, I present one of the two Winter Solstice chapters!

**Further Ado: Warning and Disclaimer**: Same as the first chapter. What'd you expect; that I would transform into Rick Riordan when you weren't looking? Anyways, as warned, this chapter has major spoilers. So, go read The Last Olympian before you read my story. And if you haven't already read The Lightning Thief, then all hope is lost to humanity. Why are you even looking at this fandom?

**Even Further Ado**: Shout outs to Kronoseater, Chaos Mizore, MOONLIGHT-97, and especially Rotisserie Chicken for reviewing! Thanks!

* * *

In the last weeks of December, most children write their Christmas wish lists. Not Nico. The black-clad boy was bent over a paper, attempting to record his thoughts. However, his dyslexia had other ideas.

"_Lsit of qeoqle to get revenpe on_," he titled the page. Stopping a moment to collect his thoughts, he gazed out at the barren land in front of him. He was sitting in the middle of Death Valley for reasons only he knew of. "_Persy_," he wrote. A demonic grin crossed his face as he recalled the evil plan he had come up with on the ride home from Thanksgiving dinner. Now, almost a month later, it was time to put that plan into action.

But before he gathered the necessary materials, he had to finish his list. "_Grovr_." Nico did not yet have a revenge plan for the satyr other than the general idea that he would do something to make Grover look bad in front of his girlfriend, causing them to breakup and… No, Nico refused to jinx it by taking his thoughts any further than pure revenge. Juniper probably wouldn't date him anyhow. Okay, maybe he would think about it just a little bit…

An hour later, Nico snapped back into reality. He looked down at his lap and was startled to notice a pen and paper. The boy slapped his forehead, angry at himself for forgetting all about his important task. He then proceeded to tap his chin in thought. Hmmm… There didn't seem to be anyone else on Nico's bad side that he could think of. At least, not yet.

* * *

Percy strolled through his beloved camp, sneakers crunching in the thin layer of snow that was permitted to coat the ground. He had heard that something neat was happening at the arts and crafts station. He stunk at all things involving aesthetic talent, but thought he'd be a good sport, especially since it was only three days before the solstice.

Upon his arrival, he was met with the sight of demigods of all parentage working side-by-side. Including Annabeth. "Where were you, Seaweed Brain?" she inquired without looking up from the construction paper she was cutting.

"Was I supposed to be here sooner?" Percy was confused.

"Yeah. I figured you'd need all the time you could get to work on your Yule cards, seeing as you're so incompetent at that sort of thing," she continued nonchalantly, "Nico was here."

"What?" the son of Poseidon exclaimed, sliding next to Annabeth at the arts and crafts table. "When?"

"You just missed him. I think he was making a card for you, actually."

Percy smiled, touched. "Awww, Nico. How thoughtful."

"You sound like his mom or something." Annabeth snapped her gum loudly to emphasize her words.

"Hey! I do not!" Percy denied, "Anyway, I'd better get started on these Yule cards…"

"Good luck with that," Annabeth said with an eye roll, standing up to leave.

"H-Hey! Where are you going?"

"I'm done," she replied simply, leaving her boyfriend to the impossible task before him.

* * *

It was almost dark by the time Percy finally emerged from the arts and crafts room. Groaning and clutching the fruits of his labor to his chest, he made his way to Poseidon cabin. Anxious to get to his room and safely deposit the cards as soon as possible, the black-haired boy took a shortcut through the woods. However, his plans could not be met. Connor Stoll intercepted Percy when he was halfway to his destination.

"Now's not really a good ti-"

"Delivery," Connor interrupted in a sugary voice, "Nico asked me to give this to you, and since I'm a son of Hermes, I couldn't find it in myself to refuse." He batted his eyelashes angelically.

Percy was too excited by the bright blue Yule card Connor handed him to notice the boy's strange behavior. As Percy eagerly opened the card, Connor snuck away from the scene, snickering to himself.

"_Deer Pursy_," read the card, "_Haqqy Wintur Solstiss. Hav teh bestest day evur. Luv, Neeko._"

Percy stared at the card, his jaw halfway to the ground. It was a nice thought, but Nico really needed to learn a thing or two about manliness. Percy shook his head, mentally reviewing everything he would tell the younger boy when they next met.

* * *

Nico was puzzled. He usually felt someone's death as soon as it happened. Why was his power failing him now? He decided he would investigate the scene of his…heh heh…evil plan.

The son of Hades ran straight toward the nearest shadow he could find, shadow traveling to Camp Half-Blood.

* * *

Well, speak of the devil! As Percy analyzed everything wrong with Nico's card, the boy himself rushed out of a tree only a foot away from where Percy was walking. The older boy had to jump out of the way to avoid collision.

"Nico!" A concerned, yet stern expression appeared on Percy's face. "You have some explaining to do."

Ignoring Percy's words, the master of revenge carefully assessed the situation: Percy hadn't yet fallen into the trap. "I see you haven't gotten my Yule present yet."

"But I have. And, Nico, I know you love me-"

Eyes wide, the younger boy backed as far away as possible, until he was pressed against a tree.

"- and that's okay. After all, I look out for you. I'm your role model. It's perfectly fine for you to love me." Percy's speech was met with more stares and quite a few gagging sounds. Oblivious, he continued. "But it is _not_ manly in the least to sign a card 'love.' It's not okay. I get it. You're a tweenager. You're still used to writing 'love' at the end of your cards. It's normal for a kid to sign that way, but _this_-" He shoved the card in Nico's face. "-this is inexcusable! Be a man!"

"Uh, Percy?" the accused interrupted, "I didn't write that."

But the lecture was never-ending. "You're a tween, Nico. It's time you learned to take responsibility for your actions! If nobody ever-"

"I'm serious, Percy. Look at the card. 'Nico' is spelled wrong. I think I know how to spell my own name."

Percy gasped. "You mean 'Nico' isn't spelled with a 'k'? It's N-e-e-c-o? Really?"

Nico dropped his head into his hands. "N-i-c-o. N-i-c-stinking o. It's not that hard." After a moment, he added, "Where did you get that card from?" The boy had a few ideas, but figured that Percy couldn't be _that_ stupid. Could he?

"Connor Stoll."

"…" Nico's guess was right on the money.

"…Oh. _Oh_."

An awkward silence ensued.

"Well, I guess you'd better go to you cabin. It's getting late." Nico gestured to the darkening sky.

"…Yup. Well, nice seeing you, Nico. Bye!"

"Bye." He retreated back into the shadows.

Percy shook his head. That was odd. Why did Nico randomly show up? Then, a thought struck him. The demigod had mentioned a present for Percy. He was probably anxious to see Percy's reaction. The immortal boy chuckled. Nico could be such a kid sometimes.

* * *

Percy opened the door to his cabin and immediately plopped his pile of Yule cards on the bedside table. They had, thankfully, made it home safely. Nico's fake card laid on the top of the pile, reduced to a crumpled heap of misspelled words and way too much glue.

Then, Percy turned around and saw Nico's real card. Sitting on his bed was a medium-sized box. In his excitement, Percy neglected to notice the ominous holes punched into the side of said box. A card sat on top.

Percy picked up the card and examined the scull-and-crossbones glued on the front. "Awww…," the boy thought, "Nico has such a cute fashion sense. Sorry, buddy, but the Day of the Dead was in October." He chuckled, remembering that Nico was always wearing some skeleton shirt or another.

Upon opening the card, Percy was greeted with lines and lines of badly spelled text, penned in black ink. "_Persy_," it was titled simply. The older boy was not annoyed by the misspelling; he actually cooed at the adorability. "_Hoqe you haev a nice Yool. I kno I wont_." Percy frowned. Now he was concerned for his little buddy. Was this card actually a call for help? "_I wont have a nice Yool becuaze Bianca iz beab. Do you kno why shez beab?_" Percy sighed. He hated it when Nico blamed him for his sister's death. He had tried to look out for the girl, but she just wouldn't listen. Oh, well. Percy figured it was good for the younger boy to vent out his feelings.

A rustling sound came from the box, causing Percy to jump. Peering at the box, the oblivious boy decided that it was just his imagination and continued reading. "_Itz alll becuaze of you, Persy! You killleb her! But thats ok. I bont holb it agiants you or anythinp. Haqqy Solctise! From, Nico. P.S. I haerd you like sporkians_." Percy let out a sigh of relief. So Nico finally decided to let bygones be bygones! But they'd have to work on his spelling. Percy had trouble reading normal words, but some parts of Nico's message were just indecipherable. For instance, what were "sporkians"? Oh, well. He guessed he'd find out soon enough. The boy smiled, moving to open the box.

As soon as the cardboard lid was removed, Percy froze. "Oh," he thought weakly as a scorpion made its way up his arm, "_That's_ what a sporkian is." The scorpion meandered up to his shoulder and across his face, trying and failing to sting the boy. "This brings back bad memories," Percy thought helplessly, "Luke stung me with a scorpion. That's how I found out he was evil. Does that mean that my little Nico is evil as well?" He gulped, closing his eyes and anticipating the inevitable sting.

Just then, Annabeth burst into the room, saying, "Knock, knock!" almost as an afterthought. She glanced at Percy. "What's up with you?"

Through clenched teeth, Percy mumbled, "Scorpion. Crawling. On. Me."

"And you're afraid it's going to sting you?"

Percy nodded tenderly, trying not to upset the scorpion that was walking down his neck and under his shirt.

Annabeth burst out laughing. Tears formed in the corners of her grey eyes. "You stupid Seaweed Brain! You're invincible! Unless that scorpion stings you on your Achilles spot-" Annabeth's eyes widened as she noticed the bulge on Percy's lower back. "Oh, Styx…"

"What is it? What happened?" And that was all Percy had time to say before the poison kicked in and he fell face-first onto the floor.

Without hesitation, Annabeth raced to the infirmary. However, this action proved fruitless, as the sign on the door read that Chiron was in the Big House and Will Solace was at archery practice.

The blonde quickly changed direction, ending up at the camp's main building. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was sitting on the steps. "Hi, Annabeth," she greeted.

"Not now, Rachel," Annabeth muttered as she attempted to brush past the artist.

"But I have something important to tell you!"

"I said not now! Whatever you have to say can't be as important as-"

"I had a dream last night." Annabeth stopped trying to get around the red-headed obstacle. Rachel now had the demigod's full attention.

"What was it?" Annabeth asked softly.

"Well, in my dream there was a cardboard box…about six inches tall…maybe eight inches long…"

"I get the idea, Rachel," Annabeth scolded, sounding more than a little annoyed.

"And Percy opened the box…and a scorpion jumped out at him and stung him right on his back! And even though Percy's invincible or whatever, the scorpion sting hurt him." Rachel was perplexed by her own dream.

"Did Percy survive?" the daughter of Athena inquired.

"I-I don't remember," Rachel replied sheepishly, "But what could it mean?"

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," thought Annabeth. Aloud, she reminded, "Rachel, you're the oracle."

"I _know_ I'm the oracle! So my dream means something, right? But I can't figure out what it could possibly-"

"Rachel!" Annabeth interrupted, "Percy was just stung by a scorpion! Sheesh, you could have told us this sooner. Like, 'Percy, be sure to stay away from cardboard boxes today.' But, no! All you're doing is holding me up!" The infuriated girl pushed Rachel aside and stomped into the Big House.

Rachel stared at where Annabeth had been standing only moments before. "…Oh."

Inside the Big House, Chiron was standing by the fire, conversing with Mr. D. Annabeth interrupted their discussion. "Chiron!" she called, "Percy needs help! Quick!"

Chiron started for the door. "What happened?"

"He was stung by a scorpion! We have to hurry!" She looked at Chiron pleadingly.

"No, Annabeth," the centaur stated firmly, "You may not ride my back like a pony."

"Awww, man…" she muttered as she ran toward Poseidon cabin.

* * *

Nico di Angelo was chilling in a graveyard. He whistled, the note cutting through the frosty air. "What is _taking_ that scorpion so long?" he thought, annoyed. In his aggravation, the boy kicked the lone, scrawny tree the cemetery had to offer. A pile of snow plopped on Nico's head. Despite himself, the boy started to laugh. "Ah, this is what the holiday season should be like!" he thought to himself, splayed in the snow, "I'm covered in snow, the man who killed my sister's going to die, and it feels great!" He sat up suddenly as a new notion struck him. "Since Percy didn't die already, they probably saved him. But that's okay. After all, this is only my first try." He lay back in the blanket of white and closed his eyes.

* * *

Two hours later, Percy opened his eyes. They were met with the inside of the infirmary. "Annabeth…" he called weakly.

"I'm here, Seaweed Brain," she soothed.

"Nico! Where's Nico!" Percy needed to see the boy, and give him a stern talking-to.

Annabeth left and returned carrying her new invention: the portable rainbow-maker. Also known as a prism and a flashlight. Percy weakly threw a golden drachma at the colorful spectrum…and missed. Annabeth rolled her eyes and tossed it in for him. "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Nico di Angelo!"

A pile of white appeared in the rainbow. Upon closer inspection, Percy could see some dark hairs and hear breathing.

"Nico! Don't fall asleep in a snow bank! You'll die of hypothermia!"

Nico sat up, brushing snow off his face. "I'm fine." Under his breath, he added, "Unfortunately, so are you."

"Nico!" Annabeth interrupted, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He was the one who gave me the scorpion," Percy informed his girlfriend.

"Well, why?"

"It was a practical joke, of course." Percy laughed. "You didn't actually expect me to get hurt, did you?"

Nico stared at the son of Poseidon, his eyes wide. "That idiot doesn't suspect a thing," he thought. Aloud, he asked, "Percy, why did you call me?"

The older boy straightened up, and put a stop to his chuckles. He wore a grave expression. "Nico," he started, "They're scorpions, not sporkians."

Nico and Annabeth rolled their eyes in unison.

* * *

**Sneak peak of the next chapter**: Nico spends the Winter Solstice at his dad's. Will Demeter serve pure wheat? Will Hades give Nico socks for Yule? Will Nico be able to see a certain ghost for the holidays? Tune in next time to find out!


	3. Worst Solstice Ever

**Many thanks** to Chaos Mizore, misscullenmasen, Rotisserie Chicken, and Alessa-Daughter of Athena. You guys rock! Rotisserie Chicken, yeah, they made up, but Nico still has mixed feelings. (I don't think he would really kill Percy, either. He probably knew deep down inside that Percy would be okay, because Percy's always okay.)

**Disclaimer**: I also do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

The sky was pitch black; it was far too early for even Apollo to be awake yet. Nico di Angelo silently rolled out of bed. He hit the floor on all fours with a muted thud. The boy proceeded to brush himself off and walk briskly into the shadows in the corner of his room.

Suddenly, Nico found himself far away from Camp Half-Blood. The demigod was on the edge of his father's domain, right next to the river Styx. He gazed at the black castle and realized one flaw in this procedure: Nico was located on the _wrong side_ of the river.

One shadow travel later, the boy found himself ten feet away from where he previously stood, and twice as tired. He could already tell that he was going to have a _wonderful_ day. Just _wonderful_.

Nico trudged through the gloomy, desolate land to where Hades resided. He knocked on the doors three times quickly. A dead servant greeted him, chattering angrily. Nico tried to brush past the skeleton, but it wouldn't budge. Instead, it chattered angrily.

The living boy narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me," he muttered through clenched teeth, "I'm trying to get into my FATHER's house."

The skeleton stared straight ahead, unmoving.

"Listen. My DAD is the Lord of the Underworld, and he's going to be very, very mad at you if you don't let his son in. I know you're his guard, but for Hades's sake, LET ME IN!"

The skeleton did not budge.

Aggravated, Nico decided simply to unsheathe his sword and slash through the obstacle. The problem was solved, and he strode right in.

"Ah, Nico," Hades purred, "You finally made it. Took you long enough." The god of the afterlife froze in sudden realization. "What happened to my new guard?"

"H-he wouldn't let me pass, so I - so I…I disintegrated him?" The boy squeezed his eyes together, awaiting the scolding that was sure to follow.

"YOU WHAT?"

Nico winced. "I stabbed him with my sword and he disintegrated."

"Do you KNOW how hard it is to find a loyal, GOOD undead guard? So, you think they grow on trees, huh? How about next time YOU be my guard?"

"N-no thanks, father. It won't happen again…"

"It better not. Oh, it better not." Hades turned around and stormed into the other room.

His son hesitated. Was he supposed to follow? Or was he simply expected to wait? He opted for neither.

Making his way through the cold, twisting halls, Nico couldn't help but shiver. This was less from the chilly air and more from the dank loneliness of his father's castle. He stepped into the living room, where his doting step-mother was conversing with the wheat goddess.

"I'm telling you, Persephone, you need to eat more whole-grain products! Cereal, bread, rice, just _eat something_!"

Nico could barely stifle his laugh.

The bored daughter whipped her head around to face Nico. "Well, well. Little pitchers _certainly_ have big ears, don't they?" She paused, and the room fell into silence for a full minute before Nico realized that they were waiting for his response.

"S-sorry ma'am. I didn't mean to offend you."

She glared daggers at him. "Well sometimes," she added extra emphasis to the word, "_sometimes_ sorry just doesn't cut it."

Her unfortunate step-son twitched. He struggled to keep his mouth shut and thus hang onto what little dignity he had left.

"Sometimes little boys just need some punishment. Keeps them from getting too full of themselves, now doesn't it?"

Unable to resist the urge any longer, Nico fell to his knees. "Please don't turn me into a dandelion again! _Please! _I don't think I can take it. Please." The boy's words were reduced to a pathetic whimper, and his body trembled.

Just then, Hades strode into the room. He was beginning to realize that he might have been a bit too harsh on his son. He now searched for the boy, ready to apologize. However, one step into the room led the troubled father to see _that_ scene: his only son bent down in front of his wife, crying and kissing her feet.

Hades backed away slowly.

"Oh, get up. You're too pathetic to punish, anyway." The goddess paused before adding, "For now!" She cackled evilly.

Trembling, the child of the big three stumbled out of the room…and right into his father. The demigod jumped away. "S-sorry, sir," he muttered, wiping the tears off his face.

"…" Hades was at a loss for words. He wasn't very good at this whole "parenting" thing and wasn't sure if he should comfort his son or side with his wife and tell Nico to man up.

In the end, Hades settled on awkwardly patting his son's back. "There, there…" He tried to sound comforting, but it came out almost as a growl.

Nico looked up at his father, confused and more than a little freaked out. "Uh…thanks… So…what now?" His voice squeaked slightly at the conclusion of his sentence.

"…Why don't you visit your sister?"

In a burst of confidence, Nico asked, "What about my mother? Can I finally see her? And not just as a memory?"

"NO!" Hades shouted, then revised his words. "I'm sorry, Nico, but she is the one ghost you cannot see."

"Why?"

The god was thrown off-guard. "Uhhh…Ahem. Because holding grudges is your fatal flaw."

"But I already saw how she died!" the boy protested.

Hades winced at the mention of Maria di Angelo's death. "Still. You just don't question these things, Nico." And with that, Hades glided into the living room, mumbling to himself about Rick Riordan and questionable plots.

The demigod stopped and stared for a moment. Then, he shook his head to rid himself of confusion and stepped outside in search of Bianca.

He found his sister in Elysium. She was talking to Zoë Nightshade, but stopped abruptly when she saw her younger brother. "Nico!" the dead girl squealed, "You're here! Oh, I missed you so much!" She ran over to the boy and attempted to hug him, but her arms ended up passing through his skin.

"Geez, stop it, Bianca," Nico muttered, "It's creepy when you go _through_ me." On the inside, he was positively beaming.

Zoë sighed. "Farewell, Bianca. We shall continue this conversation at a time when there are no _boys_ present." And with that, she stalked off.

"Yes!" Nico hissed in triumph.

His naïve and somewhat stupid sister focused her full attention on Nico. "How are you?" She giggled with glee.

"Uh…okay, I guess."

Bianca's smile was quickly replaced with a look of concern. "What's wrong, Nico?"

"N-"

"And don't say 'nothing'! I know you too well for you to get away with that."

The boy sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'm having…trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

Another sigh, followed by an inaudible mumble.

"What? Speak up, Nico. I can't understand what you're saying."

He uttered a slightly louder mumble.

"Ni-co." Bianca shot her brother a look of intense disapproval.

"Girl trouble! Are you happy?"

She giggled again. "Oooh, Nico! Of course I'm happy! My little baby's growing up!" The rest of her words were lost in an avalanche of laughter. Wiping a non-existent tear from her eye, Bianca attempted to resume their conversation. "No, seriously, Nico, what's wrong?"

"I just told you." Suddenly, the demigod felt extreme loathing toward his sister. If he was ever actually allowed to see his mother, he was sure she wouldn't act like this. What was Bianca's problem?

"No, Nico. What's really wrong?"

"Why won't you believe that I have a stinking crush?"

His comment was followed by dead silence as Bianca tried to process this information. "So, you really and truly like a girl?"

"You know what? Never mind. Just forget I ever said anything."

His sister became upset. "Why, Nico? I'll help you! I promise I won't laugh again."

"Okay! Fine! Whatever! …I like this girl…"

"Which girl?"

"Does it really matter?" Nico was rather touchy on the subject.

"Yes."

"Okay, fine! I like Juniper-"

"Who?"

"Some dryad! Anyway, I like Juniper, but she already has a boyfriend. What do I do?" By the end of his little speech, Nico sounded almost desperate. Which he was, if he was seriously asking his sister for advice.

Bianca took all of five seconds to produce a solution. "Get rid of the boyfriend, duh."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Well, I know that. But how?"

"Hm… Well, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry drinks that lucky stuff-"

"Felix Felicis?"

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, he drinks that stuff, and then shoves Ginny and makes it look like her boyfriend did it. Then Ginny's all like, 'OMG, I hate you! Stop pushing me around!', even though Harry did it, so they break up and Harry gets the girl!"

Nico's head spun from his sister's inability to form a cohesive sentence. "Look, Bianca. I don't really care about what Harry Potter did. This is _real life_. Magic's not gonna get me out of this situation."

The ghost looked slightly annoyed at her brother's dismissal of her helpful information. "All I'm saying is to do something like that. Is there anything Jupiter hates?"

"Juniper," Nico corrected.

"Pfft. Same thing."

"Well, I think she doesn't like dogs…especially Mrs. O'Leary."

Bianca's jaw dropped. "Mrs. O'Leary's a dog? I always hear Daedalus talk about her like she's his wife or something." She composed herself. "Anyway, you should trick Jupiner's boyfriend into whistling and calling Mrs. O'Leary. Then she'll freak out and yell at her boyfriend! All you have to do is say, 'Never fear! Nico's here!' and make Mrs. O'Leary go away! You'll be her hero!"

"I love you, Bianca."

The sister smiled. That's what she liked to hear.

* * *

Many long hours later, it was finally time for dinner. Nico had eaten whole-grain wheat flakes for breakfast and organic rice for lunch. He shuddered at the thought of what Demeter would serve for dinner.

Hades was in a bad mood from the gods' annual Winter Solstice meeting. No one had listened to any of his suggestions, and he made sure that his family knew it. "Persephone!" he whined, "No one cares about what I have to say! They all think that just because I'm not an Olympian god, my opinions don't matter! They're a bunch of big bullies!"

"There, there," his wife soothed in a bored and slightly annoyed voice.

Demeter clapped her hands twice. "Hey! I baked this delicious dinner for you, and you'd better eat it!"

Nico groaned inwardly. The meal splayed out on the table was – you guessed it – _wheat_. There was a huge loaf of turkey-shaped bread, surrounded by what Nico supposed to be whole-grain mashed potatoes and Hades knew what else.

Actually, judging his father's baffled expression, not even Hades knew.

Nico bit back his complaints. This was going to be a long dinner. While trying to appear to eat more food than he actually was, the boy mulled over his evil plan against Grover. He tried to avoid all conversation and to ignore Persephone's stinging insults.

* * *

After the terrible meal, it was time for the exchange of Yule presents. Last year, Nico had given his step-mother a flower he had picked from her own garden, which had not ended well. This year, he had learned from his mistake, handing Persephone a flower of moonlace he had plucked from Percy's garden when the older demigod wasn't looking.

"What. Is. This?" Persophone growled, "You _killed_ a flower to give to me. You gave me a _dead_ flower?"

Nico trembled. It seemed he just couldn't please the demanding woman. "S-sorry, ma'am."

Hades placed a firm hand on his son's shoulder in an attempt to defend him. He shot his wife a stern look.

"You're lucky your father's here," the goddess whispered, "Otherwise, I'd have turned _you_ into a dead flower, punk."

Nico gulped before revealing his gift for Demeter. It was a crown the boy had made out of stands of wheat weaved together. Well, to be fair, Annabeth had made it. She had tried to teach Nico, but all his efforts had failed miserably, so the daughter of Athena had ended up just handing him a crown she herself had made.

Demeter scoffed at her present. "What a waste of wheat! Wheat is meant for eating; it should be respected." The goddess glared at the demigod, grudgingly donning the crown.

The only person left was Hades. Nico turned to his father and blushed, taking out a black tie decorated with small white skulls. He had searched at four different Salvation Army stores to find the tie, and hoped that his father didn't hate the thing the way every else had despised Nico's gifts.

Hades was struck speechless. "A tie," he thought, "Really? Why would I ever need a tie?" He cleared his throat. "Thank you, Nico," he said aloud, "That was really…thoughtful of you." The god silently patted himself on the back for his good parenting skills.

Persephone and Demeter didn't have any gifts for Nico, as they didn't consider the boy to be family. The goddesses also insisted that Hades give Nico his present as soon as possible, in order to speed up the process of kicking out "unwanted" visitors.

The god pulled a small figurine out of his pocket. As the trinket was pushed into Nico's hands, the boy gasped. It was a Hunter figurine from the Myth-O-Magic game. The girl's blond hair had been crudely painted over with black. "I-is this supposed to be Bianca?"

Hades nodded, sweating nervously.

Tears appeared in the corners of Nico's eyes, but he blinked them back. "Thanks dad." His voice came as a whisper.

"Could you hurry up and _leave_?" Persephone whined, ruining the moment.

Gulping back sobs, Nico shadow-traveled far away from his father, his sister, and the mother he was never allowed to meet.

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**A/N**: Sorry for the delay. I'll be quicker with the updates after Christmas, because I have a lot of stuff due on the week before break. …Wait a minute…midterms are in January. Aaaah! Oh, well. I can always write during my study breaks. ;)


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